LAH Holds A Conference to Mark World Hemophilia Day

The Lebanese Association for Hemophilia (LAH) and international pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk held a conference to shed light on blood disorders, as well as mark World Hemophilia Day, celebrated annually on April 17

Hemophilia affects only males but “there are many other bleeding disorders that affect both males and females,” said LAH president Solange Sakr. A number of women remain unaware of a bleeding disorder until they experience complications during childbirth, she said.

LAH is currently the only NGO in the country providing a comprehensive range of diagnostic and treatment services for hemophilia patients. In December last year, LAH launched a screening campaign for bleeding disorders in Zahle, Sakr said.

“Our aim is to improve the lives of people with bleeding disorders through our global research and local partnerships, as we work to change the fact that most of those afflicted do not have access to adequate diagnosis and treatment,” said Rita Sfeir, Lebanon general manager of Novo Nordisk. The firm runs the “Changing Possibilities in Hemophilia” project in Lebanon, organizing awareness activities about the disorder.

Hemophilia, von Willebrand disease, and other factor deficiencies are lifelong bleeding disorders that prevent blood from clotting properly, LAH explained. People with bleeding disorders do not have enough of a particular clotting factor, a protein in blood that controls bleeding, or it does not work properly. The severity of a person’s bleeding disorder usually depends on the amount of clotting factor that is missing or not working.